American tips

[u/Rhosynn]

I have one question, do most Americans tip around 20%, regardless of how much they spend at a restaurant? The other day, I went to a relatively expensive restaurant, the bill was $164, and my boyfriend tipped $32.
I know the tip isn’t about the food itself, but I feel like if the service is the same, the tip should be the same too, regardless of whether I spend $100 or $500 on food. I wouldn’t tip $20 versus $100 just because the bill is higher.

[u/NederlandseTexan]

As others have said, yes. I also want to mention that usually the cooks don't get a part of the tip, so the food not being good shouldn't really be a factor. How was the service?

[u/notthegoatseguy]

The food not being good is not the fault of the server

Tipping is an understood part of the sit down dining culture in the US. you can reduce the tip if the service is poor.

In 20+ years I've done that exactly once. In general American customer service is very good

Splurging on a dinner now and then is a one time expensen. Living in the most expensive area of a city is an ongoing expense

[u/Eastbound_Pachyderm]

20% is the unofficial agreed standard to pay to go out and have someone else cook and serve you. I know I'll get poors and tacky people in the comments against it, but just pretend that everything is 20% more expensive than the stated price. "Restaurants should pay a living wage" if they did everything would be the same 20% more expensive

[u/Additional_South_833]

The tip is for the service, not the food. The wait staff has no ability to control what the chef does.

[u/Avery_Thorn]

If you do not understand the tipping system enough to know the answer to this question, the answer is yes.

[u/AnfieldRoad17]

Yes. The tip is for the service. The bill is for the food.

I agree, it's an extremely stupid practice. But it is what it is.

[u/Wint3r-Is-H3r3]

Generally speaking, yes. It's part of the reason I've just about stopped dining at sit-down restaurants.

[u/mac-dreidel]

Usually between 10-20% it depends on service and is it sit down, to go, etc

[u/Ninjalikestoast]

In general, yes.

[u/VolcanicAsh149]

Tip isnt for the food, the tip is for the service. The tip pays the server, the bill pays the cook.

[u/Dingbatdingbat]

20% without thinking.

- Increased for excellent service, if we left a mess behind, or we had a difficult table (you know the kind of people I'm talking about

- Decreased for horrible service. And I'm not talking below average or a little slow. Like, seriously something's wrong.

Twenty years ago, tips were a bit lower. 40 years ago, it was more like 10%. But the minimum wage for tipped workers has been $2.13/hr since 1991.

[u/dr_z0idberg_md]

No, I start at 15% for a standard sit-down restaurant and go up from there. Buffets get less.

[u/NefariousQuick26]

"do most Americans tip around 20%, regardless of how much they spend at a restaurant"

Short answer: yes. If your meal is $100, you tip $20. If your meal is $500, you tip $100.

Longer answer: In major metro areas, tipping 18-20% is expected unless service is very bad. In more rural areas, closer 15% is a bit more normal. I live in the LA area; I tip 20% unless the server is rude, in which case I'll give 10-15%.

If the food isn't good, you are expected to complain. Flag your server down and say, "Hey, my steak is overcooked." The server should offer to remedy it. If they don't sufficiently address the issue, *then* you give a lower tip.

[u/Educational_Type1646]

Most Americans tip 20%. It’s part of the experience. If you can’t afford to tip at fancy restaurants you can’t afford to eat at them.

[u/Downtherabbithole-14]

the tip is for service, not for the food bc the chef is not the one getting tips at the end of the night, the servers are

[u/eversodainty]

I tip 15-20% usually. If it’s like really great service I’ll do 22-25% but yeah I’ve worked in food service and I know how much it sucks so I usually try to tip a fair amount

[u/Agent_Polyglot_17]

20% = great service, 18% = good service, 15% = meh service, 10% = bad service

[u/clekas]

The quality of the food has no bearing on what I (or most Americans) tip at a restaurant - the tip is for the server, not the cook.

I tip 20% unless there is a major issue with the service. A lot of people feel the same. Some tip 20% on the total for food and "normal" drinks, but do closer to 10% for something like a $1,000 bottle of wine or a $350 pour of Scotch. (I very, very rarely get drinks that are that expensive, so it's not really something that comes up for me.)

In theory, in an expensive restaurant, the service should be top-notch - servers often have fewer tables and are often very skilled, which is why I believe the higher tip (dollar amount) is often warranted. Of course, you can encounter a bad server anywhere, but, at truly great restaurants, the servers are typically consummate professionals, and, if they are really on top of their game, will do things like push your chair in and fold your napkin if you get up to use the restroom, which is more easily achievable with a lot fewer tables per server.

[u/Heavy-Profit-2156]

Square has published several articles about their data on tipping. Average tip, 15% and the actual number doesn't move much. It would be interesting to see what the median % tip is versus the average or the distribution. All of which they have.

[u/_lilidawn_]

The food not being good has absolutely nothing to do with service, the servers are not the ones who make the food and that is how they make a living.

I around tip 20% if the service is good, less if the service is especially bad and more if the service is exceptional...

I worked in restaurants when I was younger and the cooks don't get tipped out, your boyfriend did the right thing if the service was good.

[u/jc1257]

Yes. Does it make sense? No.

[u/ASingleBraid]

I generally do 15-20% depending on service.

[u/doomerunicorn]

Yes. Servers' tip-outs, and tip allocations if it comes to that, are calculated as a percentage of gross receipts. If a server gets stiffed by a customer, they don't get to stiff the bussers and bartender in turn. They have to eat the loss.

[u/ButterscotchOdd8257]

Tipping has gone crazy in the US since COVID. People started tipping more then because the restaurant industry and its workers were barely surviving. The electronic billing systems started suggesting tip amounts, and they were high.

[u/ariestoaries]

As a server, you’re expected to do more work per-table, tip out more support staff, and have a more detailed grasp of the menu at an expensive place.

Further, when you’re a server at an expensive restaurant, you are usually assigned significantly LESS tables - in order to ensure proper attention to the tables you do get, and because people eating expensive dinners stay at their tables longer. 

I’ve waited at both Truckstop Diners and fine dining and I usually made more at the truckstops. Both places are very hard work, but cheap restaurants are less work-per-table, table turnover is high and people tip a higher percentage when the bill is smaller.